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' No. 382,210. Patented May 1, 1888.

NITED STATES PATENT FFIcfn.

HENRY A. BLACK, or 'oHIcAeo, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To A. HENRY MULLIKEN, or sAMn PLACE.

LAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,210, dated May 1, 1888.

Application filed October 24, 1887. ,Serial No. 253, 178.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. BLAcK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to an im provement in the class of lamps used for signaling purposes in connection with railroads.

It is a common occurrence for the signallight to be extinguished by the falling of the wick into the oil-pot, owing to the effectupon the wick adjusting mechanismto turn the wick down-ofthejarring produced by the motion of the train,whether the position of the lamp be at a switch or on the train. Such an occurrence is obviously liable to be the cause of, disastrous consequences.

My object is to provide means of simple and effective construction which shall operate to hold the wick in place against the tendency of thejarring effect of the train to lower it.

To this end my invention consists in having the button on the end of the spindle carrying the wick-operating ratchet-wheel on the burner adapted to make frictional contact with the surface of the oil-pot by securing the burner in place.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the oil-pot and burner of alamp provided with my improvement, and Fig. 2 a plan view of the same.

A is the oil-pot of a common form of lantern, B the burner, and G the ordinary wick raising and lowering device comprising a horizontal spindle, 1", provided with a button, 0, at one end and extending toward its opposite end through the burner near its base and provided with one or more toothed wheels which extend through the side of the wick-tube q into the path of the wick and serve to engage with the wick and produce raising and lowering thereof by turning the spindle at the button in the proper direction for the purpose.

The button 0, which is of ordinary disk form and may be milled around its edge, is arranged with relation to the upper surface of the oil-pot to extend into contact with the latter,when the burner,which is preferably of the ordinary screw threaded variety, is screwed into position-that is to say, the button is out of contact with the upper surface of the oil- (No model.)

pot while the burner is being screwed into place and until it has been turned nearly to its limit of tightening, whereby the button remains free to be manipulated to regulate the light by adjusting the .wick. When the burner by turning it has been lowered suffi ciently far to produce contact of the button with the upper surface of the oil-pot, further turning increases the frictional contact of the button by pressing it against such surface, thereby tightening it to an extentw-hich serves to hold the spindle 7" against. rotation by jarring and thus effectually preventing unintentional extinguishment of the light by thelowering of the wick.

My object may be attained either byproviding a button, 0, of a diameter which will cause its periphery to extend into contact with the oil-pot when the burner is screwed down or inserted part way, or by having the top of the oil-pot or a portion of it sufficiently high or raised, as shown at n, to extend against the periphery of a button of ordinary relative diameter when the burner is inserted to the desired depth.

While I show my improvement applied to the oil-pot of a lantern, this being the immediate medium with which I desire to use it, I do not limit my invention to such particular means for its application, but wish to be un derstood as intending to secure protection for it in any lamp'connection to which it is applicable, the term lamp being employed in its broadest sense and including any lightproducing vessel with which my improvement may be used. I

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination ofan oil-pot,A,aburner,

B, and a wick raising and lowering device having a button, 0, in frictional contact with the oil-pot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of an oil-pot, A, provided with a raised top, a burner, B, and a wick raisingv and lowering device, 0, having a button, 0, in frictional contact with the oilpot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY A. BL AGK.

In presence of J. W. DYRENFORTH, GHAs. E. Gosron, 

